Trapped
by Kgirl1
Summary: The worst part was that he had gone for her. No, the worst part was that it was all her fault.
1. Man Down

**A/N: Here it is, the prequel to 'Caged'. All stories are on hold until I finish what will hopefully become a three-part series.**

It had been an ordinary day, devoid of Stormshocks or peril. It had been an ordinary nightly routine, the two of them going to bed on their own and then her waiting in her room until half past lights out to sneak into his. It wasn't that they were breaking any rules, rather, it was to avoid being harassed by their teammates (or putting any images into their heads). Vert and Agura knew they meant it playfully but one could only take so many jokes before alternative measures were taken. The sneaking around was an insignificant price to pay; she loved laying there and talking with him about anything and everything.

That fateful night, he had initiated the conversation. She was on her back, he facing her on his side. Vert had learned through experience that Agura was, when it came to this sort of thing, adorably timid. She would never be the one to instigate the first touch, and so he had learned to warm her up.

"You know, I was thinking about when we first started out as a team," he was saying. "Remember? You and Stanford bickering all of the time, Zoom trying to prove he wasn't just the kid?"

"Yeah," she had laughed. It had been a simple statement, really, reminding her of past times, memories. She hadn't even considered at the time that it would have the power to ruin their lives.

"And I was thinking…what if what happened to Zoom… you know, with the puffer plant, happened again?" Vert asked worriedly. "I mean, we're on Vandal all the time, you never know what could go wrong."

She hadn't considered the irony in those words until now.

"What's your point?" Agura rolled over and propped her head up on her arm.

"Call me crazy, but I was thinking about jetting over there and grabbing a bunch of them." Vert chuckled at the spontaneity of his statement. "Just to be safe, y'know? So we would have one less thing to worry about."

"I certainly wouldn't have anything against that," Agura nodded in agreement. There was a heavy silence for a moment as they both pondered the chances of it actually happening, and then Vert spoke up.

"Do you kind of want to go?"

Agura glanced over her shoulder and checked his clock. **12:37.**

"Actually, yeah," she laughed and admitted. If it would help him sleep better, so be it, and she would never sacrifice time with him alone. They pulled on their boots over their pajamas and she threw on a coat before entering the Hub. A Battle Key was quickly programmed and, with silent mode activated on their vehicles, the pair was off.

"You know, it's weird." Vert stated as they exited their cars, parked in a small clearing on the jungle planet. They were far from the stronghold and the only light was given off by the moon, so their chance of being detected was fairly small. "I just felt like I really had to do this. You know what I mean?"

"Vert, I have diagnosed OCD. Welcome to every day of my life." Agura reminded him with a chuckle as she scooped up a plant. "Ugh, completely forgot to bring my gloves," she grimaced as the black dirt squelched underneath her fingernails and into her hands.

"Yeah, those would have been nice," Vert laughed, taking the storage container he _had_ remembered out of the Saber and setting it on the ground. "How many do you think we need?" He questioned, releasing one of the larger plants into it.

"Well, Sage can probably secure enough of the antidote from just the few of them, and if we run low we can always grab more." Agura pointed out.

"Works for me." Vert held up his muddied hands. "Hey, I think I remember there being a river right over there, if you want to clean up," he offered, pointing to the forest.

Agura displayed her hands as well, grinning. "Works for me."

It didn't take long for them to reach the stream, and Vert knelt down by the shoreline to dip his hands in the cool water.

"Well, now you're just getting your knees dirty, you know." Agura teased, indicating the mud at the riverbank. Something about being there with him had her defenses totally down.

"Aw, it's not so bad." Vert looked up at her with a twinkle in his eye and before Agura knew it she had been pulled down in the mire next to him.

"Vert!" She exclaimed, more from reflex than actual anger, and splashed him with the muddied water from her hands.

"Agura!" He mocked right back, cupping a handful of thankfully-clean water and trickling it on her head. Agua screeched at the sensation and tried to duck away, but not before the water had made its way down her back.

"Ooh, you…" she tried to glare at him but simply didn't have the heart. "Oh, you." Agura sighed wistfully, upon realizing how grateful she was just to be here with him. She glanced up at the stars, beautiful and untainted by city pollution. "You know, this really is a beautiful place at night." Vert looked up at the moon, seeming twice as round and luminescent when surrounded by the tall trees, and agreed.

"Beautiful night to spend with a beautiful girl." He smirked and kissed her cheek, and Agura blushed, brushing an imaginary strand of hair off of her face.

"Stop," she giggled shyly. She had never thought of herself as a giggler before meeting him.

"No," he replied cheekily, and kissed her again, this time on her lips. Warmth spread through Agura and completely erased the cold chill the water trickling down her spine had brought her. It felt this way every time, sometimes sweet, sometimes lustful, but always warm. She kissed him back, and he brought his hands around her sides. Always warm, always wonderful. Agura had never loved anyone like she loved him.

They finally remembered the time, and the place, and realized that no matter how caught up in the other they were, it was time to go.

"We'll just say that I owe you one." Vert joked as he entered the Saber.

"To be paid back upon arrival at the Hub?" Agura raised her eyebrow provocatively, and he grinned.

"We'll see."

She had never driven home so fast.

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"So, how about that owing me one?"

They had made it back to his bedroom, rinsed off the extra mud and changed into clean sleepwear. Agura snuggled herself into his arms, and he pulled her even closer.

"You remembered." He grinned slyly, kissing her on the nose.

"You _know_ that's not what I meant," Agura laughed, and he chuckled back and kissed her again. But before anything further than PG had happened, Vert pulled away and smacked his palm to his forehead.

"Oh my God, I forgot the plants." He cursed, shaking his head in disbelief, and Agura groaned.

"Are you serious?" She asked in exasperation, and he despairingly nodded. "Vert!" She couldn't help but laugh at loud. How could they have forgotten the entire reason they had even _gone_ to Vandal at one in the morning?

"Ugh, I'll just go get them." Vert shook his head at himself, swinging his legs around and out of the bed. "You wait here." He leaned over and kissed her forehead before yanking on his boots.

"Are you sure?" Agura asked worriedly, sitting up now. "Maybe I should go with you, just in case." She frowned, about to get out of the bed as well.

"No, you stay right there." Vert shook his head, pulling on the other boot. "It'll just take a second. I mean, the Vandals didn't even know we were there. Don't worry." He smiled easily at her, and Agura uneasily bit her lip.

"Okay, but be extra careful." She cautioned anxiously.

"Aren't I always?" Vert shot her a winning grin before stepping out the door.

"No," Agura murmured to herself once he was gone. "That's what I'm afraid of."

She tried to lie back down and relax but the idea of him going alone, even just to Vandal, even at night, even though it seemed perfectly safe, scared her half to death. It was almost one thirty in the morning now, and she resolved to watching the clock as the minutes ticked away.

_It really shouldn't take him more than ten minutes._

**1:40.**

_Well, half an hour tops._

**2:00.**

_The portal probably took him to the wrong side of the planet or something._

**2:30.**

_Okay, isn't an hour enough time?_

**2:40.**

_What if the Vandals found him?_

**2:50.**

_What if he accidentally got stung by the plant?_

**3:00.**

_Something must be wrong._

**3:10.**

_He wouldn't have taken this long._

**3:20.**

_It's been almost two hours now._

**3:21.**

_I can't take this anymore._

Agura kicked away the sheets and got out of his bed, wrapping her arms around her chest as a meager form of comfort. She exited Vert's room and went down the hall to where Sherman and Spinner shared their quarters, and knocked softly on the door.

She only had to wait a minute before Sherman opened the door, like an angel sent to answer her prayers.

"Um, hey, Agura?" He murmured sleepily, rubbing the back of his neck in bleary confusion. The distressed look on her face soon started him into wakefulness, however. He had never seen Agura so distraught. Worried, certainly. Anxious? Sure. Even frantic, occasionally, and usually regarding a situation Vert had gotten himself into. But he could tell just from her body language and the hour at which she had woken him that she was on the verge of hysteria.

"Ve—Vert's gone a—and I don't know—" Saying it out loud made Agura realize how terrified she really was, and Sherman placed his hand on her shoulder.

"Whoa, Agura, calm down." He soothed. "What happened?"

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"Right. You two went to a secluded tropical moonlit location after dark to _stockpile puffer plants._" Stanford's voice practically dripped with sarcasm, and Agura turned to face him angrily. It had taken enough self-control recounting the story and how long Vert had been gone without breaking into tears and she was in no state to deal with his accusations. Sherman saw this and thankfully squashed the problem before anybody erupted into an emotional fit.

"Stanford, not the time." He warned, and Agura gave him the smallest nod of thanks.

"We just have to jump over to Vandal, find Vert and make sure everything's okay." Sherman continued.

"I don't see _why_ this task needs to be completed at three in the morning." Tezz grumbled. "Science proves that a disrupted sleep schedule can majorly damage brain activity—"

"Tezz, you could _use_ some damaged brain activity for a change." Spinner snorted.

"My _point_," Tezz glared at his teammate, "Was that if Agura had simply _gone along with_ Vert, like any logically-minded person would do and like the code of this team states, we would not have this problem." He folded his arms and raised an eyebrow at her, and Agura just about exploded.

"How could you even dare to_ say_ that to me?" She demanded, taking a step towards the Russian that had crossed the line. Tezz scoffed and prepared for a retort, but Sherman intervened.

"Guys, we don't have time for this!" He pleaded. "Come on, the sooner we get to Vandal, the better chance we have of finding Vert."

"Sherman's right." Zoom chimed in, and Agura's shoulders, once raised defensively, sunk in defeat.

"Alright, Buster, Chopper and Reverb, you're with me." She announced decisively, heading for the Tangler.

"Wait, why only four?" AJ asked in confusion.

"Sorry, AJ. Vert's still got his Sentient chip in the Saber." Sherman explained as he revved the Buster.

"Oh." AJ turned red. "Right."

"Okay, boys, let's go." Agura commanded, and all four vehicles sped out into the desert.

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"You're absolutely _sure_ this is where you guys were?" Sherman repeated as their teammates scoured the clearing.

"Positive." Agura said desperately. "That's where the box was, and…the river, right over there…" She checked for the landmarks again. "I just don't… He's not here, Sherman." This much was true. The Saber was gone. The container puffer plants nowhere to be found.

"Hey, chin up." Sherman reminded kindly. "You're our hunter. Let's hunt him down." He left her side to circle the clearing, looking for some sign of Vert's presence. Agura followed, her keen eyes picking out long before his the Saber's tire tracks.

"There," she pointed. "He headed east."

"Uh, guys?" Zoom called worriedly. "I found the box of puffer plants." Sherman, Agura, Stanford and Spinner hurried over to his edge of the clearing, where the blue Sentient container was lying smashed on the ground, a few of the plants scattered limply around it.

"Oh, no." Agura slowly brought her palm to cover her mouth in horror.

"Hey, this doesn't mean anything—" Spinner attempted damage control, but Agura stopped him.

"No, but those do." She pointed out the collection of paw prints stampeded around the plants. Upon closer inspection the prints proved to encompass the entire clearing. Agura knelt down to study the prints, and her teammates waited with grim faces.

She looked up. "Kalus, Sever, Hatch and Krocomodo."

A collective murmur of worry went through the group.

"Any others?" Sherman asked apprehensively.

"Several." Agura stroked the ground one last time before standing. "They sent an entire hunting party." She murmured quietly.

Sherman put a hand on her shoulder. "We'll find him."

Agura cast a glance into the shadows of the forest. "I hope so. But we'll have to follow those tracks if we want a chance." She sprinted for the Tangler's undercarriage and entered the ATV, and her teammates followed suit. "Everyone on me."

"You got it, Agura." Sherman replied, glad to see the shift from her despairing mood. The Saber tire tracks they were pursuing soon began to appear next to ruts from the Vandal vehicles. Broken spears and arrows began to litter the trail, and Agura tried not to think about them. After nearly twenty minutes of straight driving, she stopped in her tracks.

"Agura, what's the deal?" Stanford exclaimed, irritated that the Reverb had been brought to so screeching of a halt.

"The tracks are gone." Agura replied in confusion.

"What do you mean, gone?" Stanford demanded.

"I mean, _gone_. The Vandal tracks continue but the Saber's just…disappeared." Agura exited the Tangler and stooped down to examine the soil. "The remaining Vandal tracks head that way, for the stronghold." She cast a worried look at the ominous forest.

"Do you think the Vandals… " Zoom gulped, not wanting to guess how his sentence might end.

"Vert's tough." Sherman assured him. "I'm sure he's fine."

"But we _are_ going in there to make sure." Agura stood firmly. "We'll get as close as we can to the Vandal stronghold and then Zoom and I are going in on foot for some recon."

Nobody argued with this, and their vehicles soon reached the stronghold.

"We'll just go in, find out where Vert is, and hopefully get him out of there." Agura told Zoom as they left their cars.

"Be extra careful." Sherman told them, and Agura faltered.

"_That's exactly what I told him_." She whispered to herself.

"Huh?" Sherman questioned, but she shook her head.

"N-nothing. Come on, Zoom." Agura gestured, and he followed her through the jungle. They left their vehicles hidden in the dense bush, far enough away that they would have plenty of warning in case of an attack.

"This place seems…empty." Zoom whispered. They had slipped through an opening in the fenced-in community.

"This is bad." Agura replied nervously. "Where do you think…" A sudden clamor from Hatch's underground lab cut her off, and she and Zoom exchanged a glance.

_We have to go in there._ Her eyes told him.

_I know._ Zoom blinked back.

They crept slowly towards the entrance to the cavern and Agura gulped. This reminded her of when they had last been in Hatch's lair: stealing the very same puffer plant for Zoom.

_If you don't learn from your past you'll be forced to repeat it._ She thought eerily to herself. But wait, they _had_ learned. That was why she and Vert had even come to this planet and they were _still_ in almost the same exact situation.

The roar of multiple Vandals grew louder as they skulked further in the cave, and Agura wondered how the small lab could possibly hold so many creatures. They could make out their voices now, Hatch's shrill cackle and the low growl of his captain.

"The perfect opportunity to test your new _invention_, Hatch." Kalus chuckled darkly from within. Zoom looked at Agura worriedly, and she bit her lip. They were almost into the laboratory now.

"But Captain Kalus, doesn't it strike you as suspicious that he was found alone?" Korocomodo's throaty rumble questioned. Agura motioned for Zoom to stay back and cautiously peered her head around the wall, to where a crowd of Vandals were gathered in the lab. Hatch must have had it expanded, because no way would they all have fit in the original. Agura couldn't see what they were all crowded around but a sinking feeling in her stomach told her it was Vert. Across the room and at the front of the horde were Kalus, Hatch and Krocomodo, who had apparently just stepped up to challenge Kalus.

"Krocomodo, you dare question the leadership of your commander?" Hatch gasped. Kalus folded his arms firmly and Krocomodo growled, shrinking back.

"The subcreature was found alone. No portals or sign of his teammates anywhere near. If the humans were planning an attack they would have done a better job." Kalus stated.

"And the one that _did_ come won't be returning to as _human_ anytime soon." Hatch sniggered, and the assorted Vandals cackled along with him.

"What do you think _that_ means?" Zoom whispered anxiously, appearing next to her to take in the scene. Agura gave him a look that said _I don't know._

"Now, everybody, out!" Kalus suddenly commanded. "Hatch needs utter concentration for his experiment!" Agura and Zoom shot each other a panicked look as the horde of Vandals that had been crowded within suddenly all tried to get out.

"_Go go go!"_ Agura hissed, and the two sprinted for the outside of the cave, leaping into the cover of the surrounding jungle just seconds before the first Vandal ran out.

"That was close." Zoom whispered, but Agura was already comming to Sherman.

"Sherman, Hatch has Vert in his lab," she informed her teammate quietly. "They're performing some sort of experiment on him—"

"I'm on my way." Sherman responded instantly, and she sighed wearily. _Oh, Vert. What are we going to do?_ The task was left to her now and she had no way of knowing how to fulfill it. Agura had led her teammates before but somehow this was vastly different. _She_ had messed up. _She _had let him go alone.

And now _she_ would pay the price.

"What's the plan, Agura?" Sherman asked from behind her, appearing out of nowhere and making Agura jump. "Sorry," he apologized meekly. Agura looked in panic towards Hatch's lab and then back to her waiting teammates.

_Never let them see you sweat._

"Well, Hatch, Krocomodo, Kalus and possibly Sever are inside," she began slowly. "The three of us might be able to take them, but they've got Vert, which is a major advantage."

"Were you able to see him? How is he?" Sherman questioned, but Agura shook her head.

"No. Too many Vandals."

"But a lack of fiery retorts, so…Vert's probably unconscious." Zoom added grimly, a statement that would have been humorous in any situation but this one.

"What if we had a distraction? Something that would get Kalus and maybe Krocomodo or Sever out of the cave so that we could go in and save Vert?" Sherman suggested. "We may not be able to take four Vandals but I'm sure we could bring down two."

"Good thinking, Sherman, but how are we going to get out?" Agura responded uneasily. "Hatch'll have the alarm blaring before we can throw a punch."

"Wait, Spinner and Stanford are back guarding the vehicles, right?" Zoom asked, and Sherman nodded. "Well, what if we get them to tow all of our cars to right here?" he suggested. Agura and Sherman looked at each other thoughtfully. "The location's perfect! It's right next to the lair and the Vandals wouldn't even notice a thing!" Zoom persuaded, and Agura eventually nodded.

"Okay," she said. "Zoom? Think you can you get the Chopper and be our distraction?" she asked, and Zoom grinned.

"I'm all over it!" he nodded, jumping up and sprinting off to where their cars were hidden.

"Sherman, the second Zoom busts through those gates…" Agura trailed off meaningfully, and Sherman nodded.

"You got it." He nodded, and together they slunk closer to the entrance of the lair. Agura nervously crouched in the foliage, and Sherman gave her a reassuring look.

"You know we'll get him back, don't you?"

Agura shook her head. "I don't think I'm a good judge of anything anymore—"

"WOOOOOO HOOOOOOO! Come on, Kalus, show me what you got!" Zoom's taunting voice echoed through the compound, along with the revving motor of the Chopper.

"SUB-CREATURE!" Just seconds later, Kalus came bursting out into the open, crossbow drawn with Krocomodo and Sever at his side. "Krocomodo! Guard Hatch! Sever and I shall deal with this…_interruption._"

"Bah! I am no mere _guard_!" Krocomodo growled, but Kalus fixed him with a glare so piercing that the warrior croc turned around and sulked back into the cave. Agura and Sherman exchanged a glance a wordlessly followed.


	2. Rescue Protocol

**A/N: Short chapter but hopefully touching. We left off in the Vandal fortress.**

"Guard duty, hmph! If I were Vandal Warlord I'd send Kalus into the slavepits with his claws cut off!" Krocomodo muttered angrily to himself, the perfect racket to disguise Agura's footsteps as she snuck up behind him.

"Man, guard duty sure is a drag, huh Kroc?" The female subcreature seemed to appear out of nowhere to Krocomodo, suddenly leaning against the wall of the cave and making him jump.

"What in the—"

Sherman's fist connected with his jaw before the words came out. In just seconds the bewildered Vandal had been knocked unconscious and securely roped up. Sherman and Agura exchanged only a high-five before continuing, trying to ignore the racket that was happening outside in hopes that Zoom was okay.

Hatch was much easier to take down, and Agura was so preoccupied with tying down his pincers that she didn't notice Vert until Sherman gasped aloud. She whipped her head around but Sherman was there, blocking her view of the figure handcuffed to the wall.

"Agura, he has a pulse, but I can't let you see him." Sherman said seriously. The ropes went slack in her hands.

"Sherman, what does that mean?" Agura's voice shook and she tried to force strength into it.

"He's alive, I promise you, but I don't want you to—"

"Vert!" She pushed Sherman out of her way and cried, finally seeing the body for the first time.

Agura could only stand the sight of what they had done to him for a second before her stomach turned and she vomited, bent over and clutching her stomach in revulsion. Sherman silently approached her from behind and she felt his presence, neither of them knowing what to say. When her stomach was empty he pulled her into his arms and turned her head away from the gruesome scene, and she openly sobbed.

"What did they do to him, Sherm?" Agura shook in his massive embrace. Sherman did not want to dwell on picturing the act.

"I don't know."

Zoom was able to lead the majority of the Vandals on a wild goose chase through their own jungle. Spinner and Stanford picked off the remaining ones with their vehicles, and Stanford came into the lair only to find Agura sitting within a few feet of the cave entrance. She was staring blankly into space, eyes hollow and lifeless, her knees pulled to her chest and her body shaking. Sherman had commed to him privately about this, and Stanford bent down and helped her up, supporting his comatose teammate as she robotically entered the Tangler and sat, hands gripping the controls for dear life.

It was then that Sherman brought out the body. Even Spinner, the accomplished champion of the consuming-disgusting-foods contest, felt his stomach turn at the sight. To Stanford's distress, Vert was placed in the Reverb, his teammates in their own vehicles.

"Zoom, meet us at the Earth portal." Sherman spoke quietly into his com-link.

"You got it, Sherm!" Zoom replied, and Sherman sighed. The poor kid had no idea.

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"You have returned!" Sage exclaimed in relief when the cars drove into the Hub. They had found the Saber lying smashed in the compound, and the Buster trailed it behind them. "Is Vert—?"

"Zoom, get out, now." Sherman commanded suddenly, and the teen turned to him in distress.

"What? Why me—!"

"Follow Sherman's orders, Zoom!" Sage snapped tensely, and Zoom, in shock at her uncharacteristic brusqueness, dismounted the Chopper and rode the elevator up.

"We have to get him out of the Reverb and into the med-bay, Sage, it's bad." Sherman said urgently. He opened the hood of the royal vehicle and Sage floated over a stretcher, which Sherman quickly lifted Vert onto. Sage gasped and covered her mouth with her palm at the sight of him, but was able to bring the cot into the infirmary. AJ came running up just seconds after the doors slid closed, Tezz not far behind him.

"Where is he? Is he okay?!" The Canadian demanded anxiously, but before Sherman could respond Agura descended from the Tangler. She had spent the entire drive back to the Hub looking absolutely automated, no sign of any emotion in her expression. Sherman would have sent her out along with Zoom but something had told him she didn't have the heart to look.

"No." It was the only word she spoke as she stepped onto the green-lined section of the floating elevator, and AJ looked to Sherman despairingly.

"He's alive." Sherman told him, and the blonde breathed a massive sigh of relief. "Sage has him in the med-bay."

AJ frowned. "Well can we see him—"

"No!"

Sherman's sharp reply sent his teammate recoiling, and he sighed wearily. "I'm sorry. Sage just needs quiet to…to heal him."

"Oh." AJ shrugged. "Okay. Guess that makes more sense." With nothing less to say, he wandered off, maybe to sleep, maybe to wait. Nobody knew what to do without Vert or Agura. Once AJ was gone, Tezz approached Sherman, who inwardly groaned. He wasn't in the mood to deal with the Russian genius or his ego.

"What did they do to him?" Tezz's words surprised the young Cortez.

"Tezz, it's been a long night, I don't really wanna—"

"Agura is unresponsive to any external stimuli. You refused to allow Zoom or AJ to view the body. Stanford is currently disposing of the contents of his stomach in a very unconventional manner in the bathroom and from what activity I can discern, Sage is working furiously." Tezz stared Sherman down. "You and I are both men of science. What did they do to him?"

Sherman swallowed. He could hardly bear the sight of Vert's body, much less describe. "It…it looked like they…tried to burn him alive," his voice dropped down to a hoarse whisper, and Tezz's eyebrows raised.

"His body…it was ash-black, flesh seared off, his Shocksuit completely gone. Hair just in little leftover patches, skin practically turned inside-out. His face…it was unrecognizable." Sherman swallowed. "It…I know they're barbaric creatures, Tezz, but…I mean I never expected…"

"I see." Tezz nodded gravely. "And Agura?"

Sherman's shoulders sank. "She took it really hard. I tried to block her view, but…you know how she is."

"Yes," Tezz said strangely. "Or at least, I thought I did." With that, the Russian inexplicably walked off, and Sherman was left alone.

_I should really check on Agura,_ he thought, sinking into the chair in front of the Buster's dock. _Just need to…rest for a minute._ His eyelids drooped in an attempt to erase the image of his friend and leader, half-scorched to death.

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Spinner, Stanford, Zoom and AJ were gathered grimly in the game room last time Tezz had checked. Nobody could sleep, not with Vert's condition. They had all preferred grim-faced company to solitude, he supposed, but now all four had fallen victim to slumber. Stanford and AJ knocked out on the couch, Zoom curled up in an armchair and Spinner flat-out sprawled on the floor while the credits for 'Slugbots' played.

Only one of his team members still remained awake, and that was Agura. Unlike her teammates she was sitting on the floor in the bedroom hallway, leaning against the wall opposite her lover's door with her knees pulled tightly to her chest. Not sleeping, not crying, just staring. Her eyes were dry and blank, and as Tezz approached she did not even make the effort to look up.

In a motion entirely uncharacteristic of the Russian genius, he appraised the situation and sat down right next to her. Long legs outstretched, hands unsure of what to do resting in his lap, self-conscious eyes staring at them and beginning to wonder why he had ever thought this was a good idea when—.

"He seemed so confident about it, you know?" Agura began speaking, and Tezz was not sure whether it was for his ears or just her own, but he listened. "Just a jump over to Vandal, wouldn't even let me get out of bed. God, how _selfish_ I am." She buried her head in her hands and shook it in regret, but then resurfaced.

"Maybe that's the worst part, you know? Knowing he went for you."

Tezz didn't know how to respond to this, so he didn't. A few minutes later Agura continued the conversation herself.

"No, no, that's not it," she shook her head furiously. "The worst part is knowing it's all your fault."

The silence only lasted for a moment before Tezz softly asked, "Why didn't you go?"

For the first time since returning, Agura turned her head and looked another person in the eyes. Tezz was caught off guard by how much pain could be contained in those brown pools.

"You don't think I wanted to go?" She asked quietly. "You don't think I knew it was a bad idea from the very moment he said he could do it alone?"

Tezz had no response for that either. Agura eventually turned her head, stared back at his door and sighed.

"Now I can't even get into his room," she murmured quietly. "Not that I deserve it."

This puzzled Tezz. "Are your own quarters not adequate?"

"No, they're fine," Agura sighed again. "It's just…once you get to know someone like that…you get used to them, you know? Falling asleep with someone who cares about you right at your back, near enough where you can hear their breathing and know when they've fallen asleep and then, if you listen real close, you can hear their heartbeat?" A tear slipped from her eye and made its way down her cheek, but she did not brush it away. "You…You just get used to it, and when you try to sleep in your room, all on your own…you can't." Agura's voice cracked, and in that moment, Tezz saw her for all that she really was: a scared girl praying for her best friend's life.

He didn't know what to say. Around her, here and now, it felt like he would never know what to say.

"It's just so damn beautiful sometimes, you know? Being there, being with them." Her voice was trembling with the restraint of holding in a thousand tears.

"And…you just take it all for granted. And one day…it's all gone."

It was at that moment that Agura Ibaden, always so cool and composed, cracked. She buried her face in her hands and sobbed freely and Tezz was for once at a loss for words. Never before had he seen such vulnerable behavior from Agura. Her shoulders were shaking and her cheeks were wet, and all he could think to do was pull a handkerchief from his pocket (his mother had instilled in him to always have one handy and he now understood why) and offer it to her. Agura gingerly wiped her eyes and tried to take a deep breath before bursting into tears once more. Tezz looked at her in worry and opened his mouth but she spoke before he could say anything.

"I love him more than anything and I don't know what I'm going to do if he dies!" She hiccupped in a startling outburst and resumed the tears, and Tezz slowly and carefully wrapped his arm around her shoulder.

"I know that the captain will be alright. He is strong." Tezz spoke solemnly. "But you must be as well. He would not want to see this sorrow befall you on his behalf." Agura slowly quieted, managing to take a few deep breaths. She daubed the tears from her cheeks and blinked repeatedly, trying to erase all memory of them. She opened her mouth as if to speak but then just as abruptly closed it, instead taking the handkerchief and folding it back into his hand. Tezz sat there in shock as his female teammate shrunk down and rested her head along his shoulder and whispered only three words.

"Please don't leave."

Her statement took him by surprise, but he was able to respond in only two.

"I won't."

He waited there peacefully for some time, waiting for her breathing to deepen and slow, indicating sleep. After some time Agura finally succumbed to slumber, and he stood up, lifting her tired body in his arms. Tezz knew he wouldn't be able to access her own room, the sensors were advanced enough to tell whether they handprints were pressed there consciously or not, in case of infiltration by an enemy, so he instead opened his own door. His room was impersonal, considering the duration of time he had spent with the Battle Force 5 (AJ's walls were already covered with personal touches) but he felt much more at home in the lab, which was why the copper-toned quarters contained not much more than a desk, bed and lamp. He wasn't much of a sleeper anyway, not to mention spending late nights in the lab and accidentally crashing there, which was why the bed was neatly made and out of use. Before Tezz could deposit Agura onto the covers, she stirred, but then settled back into his arms, her head resting against his breastplate. Tezz froze for a moment, staring down at her and her innocent beauty, and caught himself contemplating a thought.

_I wonder if she can hear my heartbeat._

His breath caught in his throat as he realized all that that encompassed, and shook his head in denial.

_No. That is something only for the Captain._

He gently set her down on his bed and pulled a blanket over her sleeping form, planning to take refuge himself in his laboratory (Sherman had eventually given up on him and placed a cot in there). The Russian cast a look back to the exhausted huntress before leaving his room, but shook his head once more and continued on.


	3. Same Battle, Different Levels

**A/N: Oh, sadness. We left off with Tezz and Agura (never thought I'd write that!). I like this chapter's title because the entire team is trying to cope with the same situation, but in their own separate ways. Hope you like it too.**

**Chapter 3: Same Battle, Different Levels**

When Agura awoke her eyes met a room that was not familiar. The color scheme would indicate that it was Tezz's and she quickly sat up in worry. There was a blanket wrapped loosely around her but other than that she was lying on top of the covers and Tezz was nowhere to be found.

And she was so, so _tired_. For a second she couldn't remember what she was doing there, but then it all came flooding back.

"Vert!" She gasped and shot out of the bed. Agura threw open Tezz's door and decided to worry about why she was there in the first place later. But when she reached the infirmary, the sign was still posted, and she could hear furious beeping from behind the door. Her watch read 6:30 am; she had only slept for a few hours.

"Agura. You're awake." A hand on her shoulder sent her spinning around defensively, but it was only Tezz. Agura relaxed, but only for a moment before tensing again.

"I woke up in your room," she said quietly. Tezz's eyebrows rose.

"Yes, I could not access yours," he explained. "It would have been rude to leave you in the hallway."

"You shouldn't have done that."

"It was not an inconvenience." Tezz shrugged.

"No, Tezz, you really shouldn't have done that." Agura said firmly.

"Agura, it did not mean anything—" Tezz started, his efforts in vain.

"But it could have!" Agura snapped and instantly regretted it upon seeing the hurt expression in his eyes. It was not often that Tezz showed such concern for his teammate, and she regretted not being more grateful. "I-I'm sorry. I know you were only trying to help but…with Vert, the way he is…I just can't take that chance."

Tezz allowed himself a soft, forced smile, for the sole purpose of easing her guilt. Her reasoning was understandable. Logical, even. So why did it feel like she had stuck a knife in his back? "I would not want you to," he swallowed hard.

"Thank you." Agura closed her eyes and sighed heavily. "Do you…do you know anything?" She did not need to elaborate for him to know she was referring to procedures in the room they were standing in front of.

"No." Tezz shook his head. "Sage still has the med-bay in lockdown." He saw the disappointment in her eyes and then the dark circles beneath them. "You should sleep."

"I've slept plenty." Agura avoided his eyes.

"You've only slept for a few hours, two and twenty-six minutes approximately. That's hardly enough for the human body to function." Tezz frowned.

"I can't sleep knowing he's in there." Agura said firmly. "I…I think I'll go for a walk," she murmured, more to herself than him. Tezz watched as she slowly drifted away, more floating than in any particular direction. The night had been dark and long but by morning they had all managed to find each other, wandering into the game room not so much by choice but by instinct. No effort was made to organize a meal or even communicate, they operated unconsciously but somehow in harmony at the same time. If Zoom got up for a drink he would bring a few glasses back to the room with him to be shared with the others. If AJ stood up to leave the room he would offer to retrieve anything anyone else might need. They didn't speak of the incident, or the med-bay, or Vert. Only of the little things, the mundane, daily conversations that might have taken place, just short snippets of meaningless talk punctuating stretches of silence. Agura was probably the worst off; she hadn't spoken and moved only to accept a mug of tea from Sherman. It was still cradled in her hands, untouched, the steam long gone. When the clock above the door chimed noon it startled all of them, and the cold tea in her hands spilled all over her clothing. It was an ordinary event that usually would set off an array of responses, some mocking and some concerned, but because it had happened now, in their situation, nobody knew what do say or do. The room was frozen for what could have been an eternity until finally, Sherman stood up.

"Let me help you with that," he offered, taking the mug and offering his free hand for her to stand up.

"No." Agura said suddenly, taking the cup back from him and standing on her own. "I've got it." She left them, retreating into the kitchen, and her teammates exchanged worried glances, but nobody said anything. She was gone for thirty minutes and Sherman was about to stand up when Agura returned, a tray in her hands. On it, six sandwiches, a water pitcher along with cups and plates and a bowl of neatly cut apple slices. She wordlessly placed the tray on the center table and sat down in silence, and her teammates slowly took their plates and cups and began to eat.

Nobody mentioned that she was wearing Vert's t-shirt.

The nourishment lightened the mood, even though it worried them that she still wasn't eating.

Around four Sage finally made an announcement. It boomed over the Stormshock alert speakers all throughout the base but only truly resonated within the seven individuals clustered together in the game room, left with only each other to hold on to.

"All team members please report to the Hub."

Everybody had stood up and was gone in seconds. Sage met them in the center of the massive structure, the underground fortress that seemed to Agura much too big for the nine of them now, with an odd expression on her face.

"How is he?" Zoom was the first to break the silence.

"Vert is…fine." Sage managed to say. "His condition is stable. He cannot have any visitors for a weeklong lockdown period in which even I will avoid from the med-bay and allow his body to heal and the graft to be integrated into his immune system."

"Why is that?" Agura asked softly, and Sage's eyes darted around uneasily.

"The new layer of epidermis is still extremely susceptible to antigens. I do not want to risk infection," the Blue Sentient explained uneasily.

"A new…skin layer?" Spinner repeated dubiously, as if trying to process it. "Sage…why?"

Sage faltered. "The Vandals, as some of you have seen, were cruel to him."

"How cruel? What did they do to him?" AJ demanded angrily, defensive of his best friend.

"He appeared to have been—"

"Sage!" Sherman stopped her. Zoom and AJ had still not seen the pre-med-bay body and he didn't want them to know the grisly details. "The details don't matter—"

"What, you think I can't handle it?!" Zoom stepped forward angrily. "I've been with this team for two _years_, Sherman, I've seen things most _kids_ never will! If you can't tell me now then I don't even see why you guys have me here!" His outburst left his comrades frozen in silence; nobody sure of what to say or do. Zoom held his defensive position for just a few more moments, waiting for someone to pick a fight, before his shoulders finally sunk and he stepped back in line.

"I just…wish you guys would stop trying to protect me from this stuff."

"They burned him alive."

Everybody turned their heads in surprise to the person the cold, detached words had come from.

"They lit his body on fire until everything was burned away and his skin was scorched black, black like ashes and red like blood, and in some places there wasn't any skin left and then all you could see was what was underneath—"

"Agura…" Sherman said quietly. The way she was speaking disturbed all of them, like she was reading a ghostly description of a human corpse that had been slowly roasted to death. It was robotic and disconnected, and her eyes were far away, as if the words hadn't even come from her. Zoom looked uneasy.

"And that was just more muscle and flesh and blood, blood everywhere, all over the black and all over the body until your vision just blurred and all you could see was him and that red covering him, covering the black, covering everything—"

"Agura, that's enough." Sherman warned, but his words didn't even register with her. She was in another place and another time and they clearly weren't part of it, but she was dragging them in and it was terrifying. She looked haunted.

"His face was so scorched you wouldn't have known it was him unless you saw his eyes, because they were open and red, and the eyelids scorched and black, and he just looked so broken and so hurt—"

"STOP!" Zoom clamped his hands over his ears and closed his eyes as if he could erase the image she had just depicted. "Please, stop, I don't want to hear any more!"

"You wanted to know!" Agura snapped, yanked from the trance-like state by his cry and fully furious. "Just because you're tired of being protected doesn't mean you can go trying to prove yourself all of the time! You think you're some sort of fearless warrior who can hold the world on his shoulders without anyone's help? Nobody here needs to prove that they haven't gone soft! Nobody here needs to feel responsibility for keeping somebody else out of danger! You may think you can handle something but don't you see what happens when you can't?!"

Her outburst left everybody silent

"Agura…I don't think it's Zoom you're talking about." Stanford finally said softly, and she clenched her fist and turned away from them, facing the wall of the Hub.

"You're right, Stan," she murmured. "I'm sorry."

Zoom was still pale from the incident but he still managed to respond. "Don't worry about it," the scout said shakily.

"No," Agura repeated faintly, more talking to herself than any of them. "I'm so sorry."

Something told her teammates that she was not referring to her tirade.

The next week was a long one. Thankfully no Stormshocks arose because the team simply wouldn't have had the heart to fight. Instead time was spent as it normally would be in lulls of activity. In fact, unless you had truly spent time with the Battle Force 5 and become familiar with their team dynamic, you hardly would have noticed a change at all.

Not the loneliness in Zoom's usually attentive eyes.

Not the worry lines perpetually etched on Sherman's expression.

Not the tiniest slouch in Stanford's once haughty posture, or the missing arrogance formerly so identifiable in his voice.

Not the half-heartedness Spinner now constantly displayed, or that even in his video games there was no fight in his eyes.

Not the droop of Tezz's nose so that he wasn't always looking down on his teammates from behind it.

And only if you were truly familiar with him would you have picked up on the listlessness in AJ's massive form, the vibrancy gone from his once so animated personality.

But even a complete stranger would have known something was wrong with Agura.

Agura, who had never let them see her sweat.

Agura, who had always been so strong.

Agura, who had loved Vert more than anything.

Agura, who was broken.

She seldom engaged with her teammates anymore. Rarely ate, rarely spoke. Sometimes she would walk into the kitchen only to walk out just moments later. Sometimes she wouldn't walk anywhere at all, curled up in the same spot of the couch she and Vert had always shared for hours on end. At first, her teammates would avoid the game room at this time to give her peace, but they soon came to realize that even though she was there, she was not there at all. It started with Spinner, who would drop in and start a round of Slugbots to keep his mind off of things. Then one by one their other teammates would trail in, sit down, finding comfort only in each other and vacantly watching Spinner's tired thumbs fight off the animated antagonists without really seeing anything at all. Agura was unresponsive no matter what they did. Late at night when everyone finally filed out she would remain, gazing at nothing, thinking about everything. No effort was made to ask her to move because they knew it would be in vain. Sherman would catch her wandering the Hub, late at night, half awake and half dreaming. She told him, in the few words she would speak throughout that week, that she couldn't sleep without Vert.

Those had been seven long nights. Sherman had finally asked Sage for an override code into Agura's room just to make sure she got some sleep. Some nights she was too exhausted to fight him but on others he would find her out again just half an hour later. On the fifth night she stopped fighting and silently compromised, falling asleep on the couch.

Sherman was not the only teammate supporting her. On the third day Stanford stopped Agura on one of her many wanders when she was passing through the kitchen.

"Hungry?" The Brit offered as she drifted in. The question jerked her out of her daze, and she looked up at him and blinked, the shock of knowing that someone had ventured to speak to her rather than choosing the 'let sleeping dogs lie' approach like so many of her teammates had. "Mum's homemade chicken noodle soup." Stanford stated helpfully, and that seemed to bring her back.

"Not hungry." Agura shook her head and tried to duck out, but he stepped in front of her, his expression concerned but his shoulders steady.

"You need to eat, luv." Stanford stated firmly.

"No thanks." Agura sidestepped him, but Stanford matched her step.

"If you don't eat, Sage will have to open the med-bay for you and Vert could be exposed," he reminded her softly. She stared at him, eyes more focused than they had been in a long time, trying to push through that perpetual depressive haze to comprehend what he was struggling to make clear.

"You're not just hurting yourself," Stanford added gently. To his surprise, a strangled sob escaped her throat and she reached forward and wrapped her arms tightly around him. Stanford froze. He was not a hugger, hadn't been raised as one. Affection was simply something you learned to live without when you grew up with someone as 'Mummy's little favorite' as Simon for a brother. Coddling hadn't exactly been easy to come by as a child and he had trained himself to believe he hadn't missed out. Of course, little did the Brit know that this lack of being fussed over as a child was what had led to his self-esteem issues later on, but that's a story for another day. For the time being, he had a close friend directly calling on him for comfort and he had no idea how to return the plea. He could feel Agura shaking as she tried to suppress sobs, and he finally found the courage to bring his arms slowly around her. It was one thing to see Agura so listless but tears were on an entirely different level. She _never_ shared this side of her and Stanford caught himself thinking that maybe the comforting he was doing had been done by Vert before. He wondered how much more of Agura their leader had seen than them, and almost found himself feeling _jealous_. But that was quickly overwhelmed by worry as he grimly realized that maybe, with the unknown effects of whatever toxin Sage had told was invading Vert's body, there would be no one to comfort her.

The thought scared him, and he pulled Agura a little closer. Maybe it wasn't his place, or his responsibility, and he had no plans of infringing on his best friend's girlfriend—

_Oh._

Despite all of the complaints he had uttered, quarrels he had picked and challenges made to Vert's position as leader, Stanford still considered the man one of his closest friends. He would miss his leader's good-natured digs and jokes, his fearless and optimistic attitude in battle and the way he somehow managed to bring every typically-incompatible personality in their little team into harmony.

It wouldn't be just Agura who lost Vert.

It would be all of them.

Stanford couldn't bear to think about it any longer.

"Let's get you something to eat, luv," he swallowed the lump in his throat and forced a smile, releasing Agura but leaving a hand on her shoulder. "Nobody makes it like Mum, but I tried." Stanford guided his shell of a friend into a chair and went over to spoon out two bowls of the broth.

"Chicken soup for the soul," he cracked halfheartedly, sliding one bowl in front of Agura and sitting opposite her with the other one. Stanford tried to give her privacy by pretending to busy himself with his own meal but when she still hadn't moved after a minute of this, he snuck a glance up.

Agura had her hands clasped tightly together, head bowed and eyes screwed shut. Upon closer inspection Stanford noticed her lips moving just the slightest, silently speaking words of fervent desperation.

She was praying.

For some odd reason, the commonplace act touched him, and Stanford sent up a quick prayer as well.

If Sage couldn't find a cure for Vert's suffering, it was all really they had left.


	4. Reunited

**A/N: Okay, I think that there is sooooo much still to be explored when it comes to Sage and how she interacts with Agura and the team in general. There are just so many opportunities for incredible stories. 'Eternity,' which is on hold until this trilogy is finished, fills in a little more of (my idea of) her past but I just really want to write an amazing fic about her interactions with the team now! Just a random side note. Anyway, happy Fourth, and I'll be heading AWOL for a week or so, so I'm leaving you with this! We left off with the week of Vert's isolation.**

Chapter Four: Reunited

Finally the week was up. Sage had kept her distance from the team herself, usually monitoring Vert's conditions through video feed or typing furiously away at her computers, but on the final day she called them together.

"Vert is available for visitors now," she announced, and a breath of hope went through the small assembly. "But you must be very cautious. Do not physically contact him as his skin is still very raw and tender, and try not to agitate him too much. He still has a very long road to recovery. Who would like to go first?"

The entire Battle Force 5 looked in synchronization to Agura, who stood at the edge of their inadvertently formed semicircle with Vert's t-shirt clutched tightly in her hands.

"Agura?" Sage questioned, and the huntress timidly nodded, stepping onto her section of the escalator and ascending to the second level, where she then entered the med-bay.

The second the doors slid shut, Sage turned to the remaining team and began to speak rapidly.

"I did not want to say this in Agura's presence but I am going to tell you now. Vert is not as healthy as I may have earlier caused you to believe." She said quickly, and was met with startled looks of confusion. "When the Vandals…did, what they did to him, they caused much more damage than third-degree burns." Sage quickly pulled up a file on her computer screen for them to see, a diagram of what looked like a cluster of virulent cells. "Upon closer examination I discovered this substance in Vert's bloodstream. It is unlike anything in any Sentient database and contains components of Vandal DNA structure. I am tracking and recording the amount of whatever it is in his blood and each day the numbers exponentially multiply."

"Wait, Sage, are you implying that the Vandals somehow managed to infect Vert with some kind of disease?" Spinner stopped her, and Sage nodded gravely. "Like Zoom and the puffer plant? Is there a cure?"

"I…I do not know. That is why I need to enlist the help of Sherman and Tezz in the research." Sage looked to the two scientists of the team. "Hopefully, together, we can find some way to destroy the cells before it is too late."

"And if it's too late?" Zoom asked worriedly.

Sage bit her lip. "I do not know."

"What about Agura?" Stanford pressed. "Should we tell her?"

The Blue Sentient hesitated, gazing up to the med-bay doors. "If you were in her situation, would you want to know?"

A heavy silence met her question.

"I will tell her." Tezz spoke up suddenly, and his teammates turned and looked to him in shock.

"A—are you _sure_?" Spinner asked dubiously, and Tezz nodded. "Because….and don't get me wrong Tezz, but I don't know if you're the right man for the job—"

"I'll manage." Tezz cut him off coolly, and Spinner exchanged an uneasy glance with his teammates.

"In the meantime, Tezz and Sherman, I need you to be working around the clock to find a cure." Sage addressed. "I will transmit all of the evidence I have collected to the laboratory. If there was ever a time I needed your combined genius, it is now."

"We'll do it, Sage." Sherman said determinedly.

"For the captain," Tezz nodded in agreement.

"For Vert." Spinner came forward and stuck his hand, palm facing the ground, in the center of the group. Sherman and Tezz immediately stacked theirs on top of his.

"For Agura." AJ added, coming forward and joining the pile. He knew how much it would mean to her.

"For…" Zoom, the only man still standing, wanted to contribute but didn't know how, his hand hovering above the rest.

Sage stepped in and placed a glowing palm on top of the pile.

"For the Battle Force 5."

,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, ,,,

Agura was sure her heart had never beaten as rapidly as it was now. When she stepped through the cyan doors looking for Vert, she prepared herself for the worst. But he looked…normal. Healthy, even, if you ignored the multiple IVs hooked up to his body and bandages covering his eyes. She took a shaky breath, trying to savor the scene for what it was: he was alive, he was safe, and he was here. His eyes were entirely masked by white bandages, all of the charred skin stripped away and replaced with a newer, healthy-looking layer. There were several small sets of stitches in his arms and she was sure, the pang in her chest told her, that they encompassed his entire physique. An especially noticeable slash mark ran from his forehead to his jawline, and she felt a lump rise in her throat.

"Oh, Vert…" she sighed wearily, her voice cracking and out of use. "I can't even imagine the things they must have done to you." Agura stroked the material of his hospital bed so that their fingers almost touched, but remembered clearly her instruction from Sage. Despite her caution, Vert stirred.

"Agura?" He murmured from behind blistered lips. "That you?"

Agura had meant to stay strong. To have some sort of snappy comeback at the ready to assure him that she was okay. To disguise the fact that she had spent the last seven days alternating between silence and crying herself to sleep.

Instead, at the sound of his voice, she burst into tears.

"Agu—?"

"I'm so sorry and if I had just gone along with you none of this would ever have happened and you almost died and this whole time I've been so guilty and scared and alone and I'm just really glad you're okay!" She blurted in one massive breath and then began sobbing all over again.

"Agura, don't cry," Vert said softly. It was eerie to hear his voice comforting her without being able to look into his eyes. "This isn't your fault, it's mine."

"Don't even say that; I should have gone with you!" Her shoulders shook and for once, she was thankful he could not see her.

"You tried to. I won't let you blame yourself for my mistake. I should have let you come with me, and that's that. No fault." He sounded so reasonable even though in front of his bandages there were tears on her cheeks.

Agura finally hiccupped before she could respond, making him chuckle but then gasp and cough for air.

"Vert, Vert are you alright?" Agura panicked, but he managed to blindly nod, and the coughing subsided.

"I—I'm fine," he was finally able to choke out, and Agura could not stand the silence that followed the bold-faced lie.

"How is it here? Are you…doing, okay?" She asked carefully, desperately wishing she could wrap her fingers around his and never let go.

"It's not bad. The food's great," Vert joked, which lead to a laugh and quickly turned into a wheeze. Agura winced, she knew he was being sustained via IV and everything just sounded so painful.

"But…the bandages are kind of a downer," she realized he had left him in silence as he continued with his own thoughts. "Sage says I can get them off in just a few more days but I feel so…disconnected from everything. I mean, I'll wake up sometimes and for a second I think I've gone blind, and…it's terrifying," he admitted to her, and Agura felt another tear run down her cheek. "And the worst part of it is, I can't even see you. I can hear you but it's like I can't even be sure whether or not you're there. Reality is all that's holding me to this world and sometimes it feels like I don't even have that."

Stillness followed in which the only sound was her trying to suppress her shaking shoulders.

"I don't know. Maybe it's whatever Sage has hooked into this IV, but—" Vert cut himself off, and without his eyes Agura had no idea what he was trying to say.

"Agura, do you think…could you…could you touch me?" He asked quietly, fearful of how she might respond. "I mean, I know Sage said you couldn't, but…I really need to know that you're there." His voice caught on the final word, and Agura reached out with the hand she had been restraining for so long to curl her fingers gently around his own.

"I'm here," she whispered tenderly. "And so are you."

They stayed like that for what she wished was forever. Sage finally came in.

"I'm sorry, Agura, that is all the time I can permit for today." Sage apologized as she entered the med-bay, and Agura realized with a start that she had exhausted the entire period in which her teammates would have been allowed to visit Vert.

"Oh. S—sorry," she murmured blankly, more an apology to the Battle Force 5 than to just Sage.

"It's alright." Sage smiled softly and did not give any allusion to having seen their prohibited contact, even though Agura knew she had caught them literally red-handed.

"I…I'll visit tomorrow," she stood up hesitantly, wishing she could stay.

"Okay." Vert said quietly, her fingers still entangled with his. She squeezed his hand.

"I love you."

She had to let go, no matter how deep of a pang she felt in her chest. The second she lost his touch she felt him wither, saw him weaken and fade from her, slipping back into that blind, lost state.

"I love you too." He said it more automatically than anything, more tired than enthused, and she bit down hard on her cheek so as to hold back tears. She wouldn't lose him again. No, she wouldn't _leave_ him again.

"I have to stay," Agura blurted to Sage, who arched her cyan eyebrows in surprise.

"But Agura, Vert needs—"

"I promise to sit here, and not say a word, and do whatever you say, Sage, but I _need_ to stay."

Sage had known the human who called herself Agura Ibaden for some time now. They had started out as allies and become close friends, sharing the bonds that only two females could when surrounded by men. She had watched Agura grow, watched her blossom, find her niche amidst all of those boys and then maybe even find her soulmate. Sage had observed as the young woman struggled to overcome her OCD, tracked down a Magmatrox, and tried her hardest to be the mother that Zoom had never had. She had seen her emerge triumphant in just about every situation the Multiverse could throw at the young woman and yet, Sage had never seen Agura Ibaden looking so desperately determined.

"I suppose that could be arranged," the Sentient chose her words carefully. "But most crucial to Vert's recovery is rest, and I need to trust that you will allow him to do so—"

"It helps, Sage." Vert cut in, and Sage noticed that Agura's fingers had found a way back into his. "Having her here. Really." His statement, the Sentient also noted, caused tears to fill Agura's eyes, yet another side of the huntress she was so unused to seeing.

"Very well. I will allow it." Sage sighed. "But only for tonight," she added quickly. Agura left her position at Vert's side and without warning, wrapped her arms tightly around her Blue ally.

"Thank you," she whispered, all the vulnerability and hope in the world carried on those two words. "I can already feel him getting better, Sage, I just know it."

If Sage had possessed a human heart, it would have, as their metaphor went, sank. Instead, her core seized up and tightened, as if bracing herself for the pain that was to come. Every monitor in the med-bay told her that Vert was not getting better. Instead, his condition only grew worse.

When Vert and Agura had first started dating, Sage had been completely unsure of what to do. She had endeavored in minor studies on human pheromones and mate attraction, but because Agura seemed to fit so naturally in with the males of the team, the idea of any of her protégé, as she affectionately (and privately) referred to them, dating each other had hardly crossed her mind. Sage still remembered her initial shock when she had first found out from Spinner that the two were romantically involved. She had encountered the males of the team, minus Vert, just before they were about to leave on a 'za run,' as they referred to it. Sage hadn't thought anything out of the ordinary until she had realized that the Saber and Tangler were already gone.

"What has become of Vert and Agura?" She had asked in confusion. 'Za runs, she had concluded, were strictly an all-inclusive activity: either all of the team members participated, or the Cortez brothers ran out and brought the sustenance back to be shared.

"They're on a date," Spinner had responded nonchalantly. The news had caused Sage's core to jump just the slightest.

"A…date?" She repeated dubiously. "As in…a date?" This was completely unexpected news to the Sentient, who had noticed minor chemistry between the pair but simply amounted it to their relationship in terms of leadership standing in the team's hierarchy.

"Yeah. They've been going out for a few weeks now." Spinner replied casually, oblivious to the fact that his Blue friend was totally and entirely bewildered.

"Vert and Agura…are in a relationship." Sage stated flatly. How had she missed it? Looking back, the signs were obvious: extended physical contact, private conversations, how she felt like she had been seeing them less and less.

"Yeah, my room's right next to Vert's and it sounds like they've been in it for a lot longer than they're admitting!" Stanford called out irritably, causing his teammates to laugh. Sage, of course, missed the joke.

"This is certainly…news," she murmured, more to herself than to the others, and abruptly turned to pull up a new panel of screens on her computer.

Vert and Agura had always seemed to find ways to engage each other, whether he was offering to help her with the Tangler's maintenance or she was taking over when it was his night to cook. Sage had originally thought that he was simply being chivalrous, or that she was tired of eating burned burgers every sixth night, but as time went on, this clearly was not the case. Vert looked out for Agura, even more than he did for his other teammates. This, Sage had assumed, was simply hardwired into his genetic makeup: in any species, males had protected their females since the beginning of time. This case proved to be different.

She should have known from the moment he tried to cure her hiccups.

Sage did have to admit that the two made a delightful, albeit unexpected, couple. She reminded him what he could and could not handle, he helped her overcome her personal battles. He was a golden boy and she was more likely to have spent her lunch hour in the library and yet, opposites had attracted. Sage guessed he had been her first kiss and she his first that meant something.

Or at least, that was what she had gathered from eavesdropping on their fellow teammates.


	5. Secrets

**A/N: I'm working on a Vergura drawing you guys! Pae=rtially because there is a sad lack of them on DeviantArt and partially because I want this story to have a cover and also partially because this is one of my favorite stories (of mine, is that egotistical?) and I want it to stand out. Step one, I need to make a DA account. All in good time! Anyway, I'll make an author's note when it's up but I'm no artist so don't hold your breath. On that note, read on.**

Agura stayed with Vert until morning, their hands locked together. She hadn't slept all night, too afraid that her fingers would slip out from his, or that when she woke he would be gone. Instead she had listened to his breathing, watched the rise and fall of his chest and checking his monitors every other second to make sure his conditions hadn't changed. Vert had slept deeply and despite her exhaustion she felt relieved.

"How'd you sleep?" Agura asked quietly when he stirred, already knowing the answer but still feeling it was the right thing to say.

"You stayed," was his response, and he clutched her hand tighter in his. "Thank you."

"Vert, of course I stayed. How could I not?" Agura responded lovingly, thinking that maybe now it would all be okay. He would have the bandages removed in a few days, be able to see and get that confidence back. He would joke around with his teammates, maybe Spinner would even move the Xbox into his room until he fully recovered. He would be his old self again.

Things would be back to normal.

"Good morning." Sage entered the infirmary then. "Agura, I have to ask you to leave now. We cannot risk infection any more than we already have."

"Okay," Agura's shoulders sank and all of her earlier optimism flew out the window. Vert squeezed her hand once more, as if he could feel the imaginary burden back on her shoulders.

"Hey, I love you," he reminded her, and Agura smiled the tiniest bit.

"Love you too."

It was all going to be okay. It had to be.

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She found her teammates assembled in the rec room, eagerly awaiting her report. Agura's breath hitched when she realized that they had all been waiting there for her, and most of them had dark circles under their eyes. This was soon followed by a wave of guilt when she remembered that she had used all of Vert's visiting time and then some.

They were all staring at her with anxious eyes, and she swallowed.

"He's okay." A collective sigh of relief went through the room. "His eyes are bandaged, but…he'll get those off in a few days." Agura chose not to tell them about his heartbreaking mental state. That was just between the two of them.

Her teammates were still watching her closely, waiting for something.

"Anything…else?" Spinner finally asked carefully, just when she thought she couldn't bear the silence anymore.

"No." Agura shook her head in confusion. "Why?"

Her friends looked to each other worriedly, waging a silent war she desperately wanted to be informed of.

"No reason," Stanford finally told her, and she did not believe him.

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That night, Agura slept in her own room. The next morning she was up at nine, with pancakes, bacon and scrambled eggs on the stove and orange juice poured. When her sleepy teammates began filing into the kitchen with bewildered looks on their faces, she simply smiled and explained, "I thought we all ought to have breakfast together." Once everyone had assembled and the food had been served, conversation began to flow. Naturally, not forced, as it had been. It was like the storm had finally passed, and in a few days Vert would join them back at the table.

Or at least, as far as Agura knew. In fact, it was taking everything in Spinner's arsenal to avoid the topic of their leader, and his teammates were stressed trying to play along. But they were doing it to protect her, and if exhausting every possibly conversational topic for the next month was what it took, so be it. She was one of them, and they would do their best to save her heartbreak.

After the food had disappeared, Sherman offered to help Agura clean up. It was just like old times, really, gliding around each other without ever colliding or even needing to say a word. Sherman did stop her, however, just as the last plate slid into the sink.

"I just want you to know," he began respectfully, "that each and every single one of us is here for you. No matter what happens."

"That's really sweet of you Sherm, but I'm okay. Really," Agura smiled idly, scrubbing a skillet. "I mean, Vert's going to be okay now and soon we'll all be back together again. There's nothing to worry about." She smiled naively at him again before turning back to the sink, quickly becoming absorbed in her work.

"That's great," Sherman lied, leaving the kitchen and lumbering down the hallway to find Tezz.

"But there's actually a lot."

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"What do you mean, _when_?" Tezz demanded. Sherman had interrupted him in his laboratory and the electromagnetics expert was peeved.

"When are you going to tell Agura about Vert?" Sherman repeated in exasperation. For a genius, it sure could take Tezz a while to grasp certain concepts.

"When I tell her," the Russian mastermind responded, further infuriating his friend.

"Dude, girls don't work that way." Sherman groaned. "See, you have to pick the right day, because you might think it's a good idea to tell her when she's happy, because then she'll have some happy news to hold on to, but that in fact ruins her day entirely and she'll forget all about being happy. But of course don't assume it's better to tell her when she's sad, because then you're _really_ asking for tears. It's really all about meeting in the middle."

Tezz stared blankly at him. "Are you even speaking English right now?"

"Just…talk to me before you talk to her, okay?" Sherman sighed, running a hand through his hair agitatedly.

"Sherman, if I may, you're acting rather illogically," Tezz frowned, giving him a curious look.

"And just what is _that_ supposed to mean?" Sherman asked tiredly. The week had grated his nerves to the point of breakage and a conversation with the analytical faultfinder was not going to help.

"Well, you're showing a level of concern for Agura that is normally more characteristic of Vert." Tezz pointed out, and Sherman faltered.

"I…I don't know how much longer Vert's going to be around," he said quietly. "And maybe it isn't my place, but…soon it might be. Not to that degree but to some."

"That is an awfully morbid thought for you, Sherman," Tezz said, perplexed, and Sherman released a bitter laugh.

"You said it yourself; we're men of science, aren't we?" His eyes seemed to darken as he spoke. "Maybe it's time to start thinking like one."

With that statement, the Cortez grimly stood and left the laboratory, leaving his teammate to his thoughts.

_The captain's condition is affecting everyone in its own little ways,_ Tezz thought in befuddlement. Sherman was supposed to be the optimistic one in their partnership, who kept a cool head and invented ways to unravel any snags in an experiment that Tezz never could have come up with on his own (not that he would ever admit that to the Cortez). Sherman was emotional, and caring, and hopeful. He was not cold and logical, that was Tezz. He did not give up on teammates, on prototypes, on anything.

Tezz would not have expected him to give up on Vert.

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She loved Vert more than she could ever love him, and that was what made him so angry.

Sherman had treated Agura properly since day one. He had been a gentleman, kind and considerate, helping her out with chores when their teammates slacked and in general being a good friend.

Vert was the opposite. He had openly flirted with Grace right in front of Agura, called her one of the boys, and failed to appreciate every little thing she did for him: whether it was keeping the other boys in line or flat-out saving his life. He toyed with her feelings for him (although Sherman was pretty sure he hadn't even acknowledged her as a female until just after the Red Sentient 5 had come into power) and when he had finally come to terms with the fact that he _did_ want to date her, she had jumped right into his arms.

It had been so _easy_ for him. Everything was. Vert was the kid in high school that pushed Sherman's kind into lockers (not that the Cortez would have fit). Yes, he couldn't hold all of this animosity for his leader forever but when their team had first come together, the fact that he was being led by a stereotypical self-absorbed jock had been hard to swallow. Of course, Vert had proved himself to be not only more than that but an adequate leader as well, but there were still times when Sherman caught a glimpse of that overconfident popular kid in him.

It wasn't Vert's fault. Half of the time Sherman only conceived it in order to feel slightly better about himself. The hardest thing about it, though, wasn't seeing how happy they were together.

It was seeing how shattered they were apart. He regretted every time he had secretly hoped they would break up, wished that he had just had the courage to ask her on a date. He saw now that he never could have given her what Vert did. What they had was truly special, and he would have just been holding her back.

It was a harsh reality to accept, now that Vert was in the state that he was. Sherman was torn between anger at not being able to help him and the despair of knowing how hard Agura would take it. Maybe jealousy was somewhere in the mix too, but he felt guilty admitting it. The worst part was knowing that he would have to be there to comfort her without ever stepping past his boundaries. She would never be able to love him like she had loved Vert, and there wasn't a thing he could do about it.

It was frustrating, living with that. He didn't have a choice, but that rarely made it any easier. He could pass his emotions off as anger, or depression, the same that anybody was feeling, but truly they were rooted so much more deeply, in an endless cycle of loving her and then hating himself for it, being jealous of Vert and then cursing himself for being so selfish.

It was hard. It had been hard and it probably always would be.

But as far as she knew, he was her friend, and that if that was the role she needed him to play, he would do it without hesitating. For her. Those feelings he harbored would probably never go away, but she didn't have to know that.

After all, he was already keeping one secret, at least until Tezz revealed the truth. What was the harm in one more?

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AJ Dalton was following Agura.

He had been doing it since she had finished cleaning up the breakfast dishes. First she had done a bit of work on the Tangler, then she had abruptly stopped and gone back into the kitchen to wipe off some imaginary speck on the table, and next, the living room was vacuumed and pillows straightened. It seemed like she was trying to make up for her previous inactive state, not that anyone begrudged her for it. She was always so strong for all of them; with all she had done the boys were more than glad to take their turn supporting her. She had been grieving. They all had been, really, just in different ways. Now, Agura was reinvigorated and it showed, as one by one, each section of the Hub became spotless. He had always sort of guessed at her OCD, but it wasn't until he asked Vert that he had known how severe it really was. AJ had considered helping her with these tasks as he followed her around like a lost puppy, but she seemed more than capable on her own. That was how she liked to do things, he had noticed. Even Vert had trouble offering any form of assistance, even if it was help she sorely needed. There was a reason AJ was following her, believe it or not, but he simply hadn't worked up the courage to ask her yet.

She was walking down the bedroom hallway now, about to enter her own. AJ bit his lip in the agony that came along with indecision and finally worked up the courage to say—

"AJ, is there something you'd like to ask me?" Agura turned to him before stepping into her room, her hands on her hips and an expectant but amused smile on her face. It startled him, seeing that smile back in its place, until he remembered that she didn't know.

"Um, yeah, actually." AJ shoved his hands in his pockets, not bothering to ask how she'd known. "Can we talk in the kitchen?"

"Sure," Agura nodded slowly, cocking her head at him in curiosity. When they reached the room, he sat at the table, trying to find the confidence to ask the question.

"What did you want to ask?" Agura sat across from him.

"How's Vert doing?" AJ finally blurted, a huge weight lifted from his chest. "And please, don't just tell me he's fine. Tell me something real. I need to know."

Agura was stunned by his urgency. "He…he's okay. His skin looks completely healed." She paused. Could she tell AJ about his eyes? It was just a detail, really, his emotions could remain private. "He, ah, has these bandages over his eyes, for a few more days—"

"Oh, no," AJ murmured suddenly, bringing his palm to his mouth in shock. "That's bad."

"Wh—what do you mean?" Agura feigned innocence even though her stomach was twisting into a thousand knots.

"He's not okay, is he?" AJ asked quietly. There was so much hurt in his eyes that Agura couldn't bear to lie to him. She slowly shook her head.

"He hates it."

"Aw, man, Vert." AJ brought his hands to cover his face and sighed. Agura stared at him until he spoke again. "When we were really young, like, twelve or thirteen maybe, I brought Vert up to the lodge. It was his first time seeing snow and he was super excited and well, maybe I didn't totally understand that."

"What happened?" Agura asked softly, and AJ closed his eyes for a long time, looking miserable.

"He went snow blind. We were out too long, he didn't have goggles… it was my fault, really," AJ looked down in regret. "He didn't even know what was happening to him until it was too late. I mean, he couldn't see a _thing_, Agura, for hours."

"What did you do?"

"Dark room. Wet washcloth over his eyes." AJ shook his head in regret. "I've seen a lot of friends get injured out on the slopes but for some reason, that one just really hit me."

"AJ, it wasn't your fault—"

"I know, but you need to realize that this wasn't yours," AJ said firmly. "Look, I beat myself up too, and maybe in my case it was for good reason. But Agura, what happened to Vert just _isn't your fault_, and until you accept that, you'll never be able to forgive yourself. I should know. I was the same way. But we all know how Vert can be sometimes, and nobody on this team blames you for what happened. Not him, not Sage, not even Tezz. Every single one of us is here for you." Agura allowed herself to smile at that. "But if you keep on riding this cycle of guilt and believing that you're the one who caused all of this, it's only going to hurt yourself and your relationship. Just…savor the time the two of you have left."

"Time we have left?" Agura repeated slowly, eyes looking up at AJ in suspicion.

"Oh." AJ swallowed hard when he realized that Tezz hadn't talked to her yet. Did that make it his responsibility? But how could he, the way she talked about him? They were in love, and if she found out he was dying…he couldn't imagine the devastating results. He couldn't do it to her. Maybe Tezz and Sherman could still pull out a cure. "Well, the time the two of you have together! I mean, you've practically got dibs on the infirmary hours until he's released, right? No need to worry about us poking around…" He gave the act his all, and gradually the glare of suspicion left her eyes and turned to a glimmer of amusement.

"You guys all have such sick minds," Agura rolled her eyes and chuckled, and AJ breathed a silent sigh of relief. "Alright, I have to finish cleaning my room," she stood up, making to leave. "Ah…thanks. For talking."

"Sure," he nodded and then regretted it, wishing he had a more intimate response. "Um…you know we're all here for you, right?"

Agura tilted her head. "Of course I do."

"Uh, good." AJ shoved his hands in his pockets, completely uncomfortable. "Well, I'll see ya!" He forced a grin in an effort to cover the emotional moment, something that had never been his strength but that Vert had always been great at. He had helped AJ with that sort of thing before.

He had helped him with a lot.

AJ watched Agura go until she disappeared around the hallway, and then stood up himself, going the opposite direction in search of Sherman and Tezz. He still had a bit of trouble finding his way around the massive Hub, but fortunately, true to his prediction, they were in the lab. He turned the doorknob slowly, hoping not to startle them. Spinner had once told him that the laboratory had originally held Sage's regulation pentagonal sliding doors, but they had been replaced by the traditional doorknob, for reasons Spinner claimed he 'could not reveal without breaking a blood oath'. AJ had tried asking Vert, Zoom, and even in desperation Tezz, but all had given him a similar response. So, he pushed on the door quietly, in an effort not to disturb the geniuses. After all, they were trying to save his best friend's life. However, as it opened, Sherman came out, checking AJ in the shoulder as he stormed through the door.

"Oh, hey, Sherman, I was just about to—"

"Sorry," the Cortez muttered distractedly, pushing past him without so much as a hello. AJ stared at his retreating teammate in confusion. Sherman was never that cold. And why was he leaving the lab? Wasn't he supposed to be working on the cure?

AJ shook his head. He had made it his motto to give people the benefit of the doubt. The door to the lab was still open and he entered it cautiously, hoping there hadn't been a blowup between the teams' two masterminds. Tezz was posed in front of a computer, gloved fingers flying across the keys.

"Uh, Tezz?" AJ called meekly, and the Russian flinched.

"AJ!" He snapped sharply. "What did I say about disturbing me while I am in the labora—"

"Tezz, cut the crap, it's about Agura." AJ sighed, and his teammate raised an eyebrow, closing down the computer with a wave of his gauntleted hand.

"Well then," Tezz stated slowly, still a little taken aback by his companion's attitude. He minimized the screen. "What is it about Agura that you would like to discuss?"

"Well, for one thing, your sudden interest in her, considering she's my best friend's girlfriend," AJ said bluntly, surprising even himself with his cool tone. He didn't even know where the question had come from but the way her name had grabbed his attention so quickly suddenly had him wondering. Tezz seemed taken aback by the question as well.

"If you're referring to my hardwired and ancestral human instinct to protect females that I care about, then yes, I have a sudden, however in no way romantic, interest in Agura. She is clearly in an unstable emotional state and I don't want her to make a permanent mistake in an effort to solve a temporary problem." Tezz's statement was, as always, crisp, concise, and conceited, and AJ rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly.

"Yeah…that's what I came in her to talk about, actually," he said. His teammate raised an eyebrow curiously and AJ decided it was best to just blurt it out.

"Tezz, you can't tell Agura that Vert might not make it—"

"I wasn't planning to." Tezz cut him off, and then it was AJ's turn to raise an eyebrow.

"What do you mean, you weren't planning to?"

"I volunteered," Tezz interrupted him again, "to tell Agura of Vert's condition because quite frankly, I knew she wouldn't want to hear about it. Agura clearly needs some time to believe that all is right with the world, and in her best interest, it's important that we give it to her. It is detrimental to the human soul to endure constant grieving." Tezz took a moment and paused, sitting down in a chair and folding his fingers together.

"AJ, there is a very little chance that we will be able to do anything for Vert once the toxin activates."

"What?" AJ whispered. He didn't want to believe it.

"It's nothing like we've ever seen," Tezz said grimly. "Whatever those…barbarians did…they did it right. The pollutant has seeped into his cells, been not only accepted but integrated into his immune system. In a perverse way, it saved him from being burned alive. To try and remove it…"

"Would kill him," AJ said shakily. "Isn't that right? He'll die. He dies no matter what we do, doesn't he?" He could feel hot, angry tears rising to his eyes.

"Not necessarily." Tezz shook his head and stood up again, pulling up his computer screens. "Sherman and I don't believe this…infection, results in death."

"And what does it result in then?" AJ demanded unsteadily. "Paralysis? Rabies?"

"Mutation." Tezz said coolly. "That is all we have deduced so far."

AJ felt like the room was spinning. He collapsed into the chair Tezz had resided in just moments ago and held his head in his hands.

"So this thing…it's going to take him over? Turn him into one of them?" He asked finally, lifting his head in desperation.

"That is a possibility, yes." Tezz nodded gravely.

"Oh man…" AJ shook his head. "We can't tell her. There's no way."

Tezz knew immediately that he was referring to Agura.

"No." He agreed solemnly. "There isn't."

In less than an hour the word had spread. The general consensus was this: Vert and Agura deserved to spend whatever time they had left together as they would, without the impending threat of death clouding their happiness. They would find a time to tell Vert, maybe when the condition worsened. Sherman, Sage and Tezz would devote all of their time and energy to finding a cure. Meanwhile, everyone else just had to try and act as normal as possible.


End file.
